The Expanse Season 5 kicked off On December 16th with an explosive start. Marco Inaros’ sinister plan has come to fruition, while Chrisjen Avasarala and Bobbi Draper work against the clock to discover just who is funding and supplying the Belter terrorist. When we first see Bobbie in Season 5, however, she’s already pretty far into the mission she began with Avasarala at the end of Season 4. So how did she get to that point? A new, limited, Expanse comic series from BOOM! Studios gives us the answers!

The Expanse Comic Series
Image: BOOM! Studios

As with any television series, there is a nominal time jump between the events of Seasons 4 and 5.  Most of the time we’re left to fill in the gaps with exposition from the new season….  But not this time. (And for those of you who are fans of the books, we understand. Some of this is already explained there; this comic series is designed for fans of the show that might not have read the novels.) The limited event Expanse comic series provides us some crucial backstory surrounding the former Secretary-General’s efforts to uncover Marco Inaros’ secrets.

The Expanse comic series fills in gaps between Season 4 and 5

The Expanse Comic Series
Image: BOOM! Studios

Here’s the official synopsis from BOOM! Studios:

A new limited series event set between Season 4 and Season 5 of Amazon’s hit series The Expanse from Corinna Bechko (Green Lantern: Earth One) and Alejandro Aragon (Resonant) Chrisjen Avasarala, the former longtime Secretary-General of the United Nations, has found herself relegated to Luna after losing the latest elections…and she doesn’t plan on going down without a fight. So when Bobbie Draper – a former Martian marine – brings her intel on an intergalactic black market weapons ring, Avasarala sees a chance to reclaim her former political position of power through a clandestine operation. But as Draper digs deeper into this secret cabal, she soon realizes the threat they pose is far larger – and closer to home – than either of them ever imagined…

Issue #1 of the Expanse comic series sees Bobbie struggling with her mission. Then, out of the blue, she has a chance encounter with an old Marine acquaintance. He offers her a cloak and dagger offer of employment from an old friend. What he doesn’t tell her is that he works for an organization called the Consortium. Their alleged purpose is to unit Earth, Mars, and the Belt in peace. Grandiose plans like this usually have nefarious beginnings, however. Though Bobbie doesn’t quite know what that plan is yet, Avasarala certainly senses something foul, both on Mars and Luna….

The Expanse Comic Series
Image: BOOM! Studios

Related: See our review of Issue #2, below

The Expanse #2: Eyes On Avasarala [Review]

The first issue of the four-part, limited event series is available now. If you’re a Screaming Firehawk, then this Expanse comic series is surely going to be a must-read. Until Issue #2 arrives, The Expanse Season 5 is airing weekly on Amazon Prime Video.